Ramp heel



Feb. 6, 1951 KAUFMANN 2,540,449

RAMP HEEL Filed Oct. 5, 1946 INVENTOR. Maw/u: lfn rMn/vM 8 GM:( M 5 Patented Feb. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAMP HEEL Melville Kaufmann, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application October 5, 1946, Serial N 0. 701,565

1 Claim.

The invention relates to shoes and particularly a type of shoe known in the trade as a casual type shoe. Specifically, the invention has to do with a casual type shoe incorporating a specific type of heel lift.

During the past few years there has arisen a type of shoe for casual wear having a wedge type sole and frequently designated as wedgies." A distinctive characteristic of the shoe is the absence of a bridge between the sole and heel, this portion of the shoe being, in fact, a continuation of the sole, so that the sole, heel and the part usually comprising the shank makes a continuous fiat contact with the floor, ground or other surface upon which the wearer may tread.

Various developments have made possible shoes of wedge-like design such as that above referred to, these developments including the incorporation of materials for the heel as well as the sole which are adapted to promote a comfortable feeling when the wearer walks about.

Although wedge type shoes have had a considerable popularity in womens styles, they have not been adopted into mens styles to an equally great degree; perhaps, for the reason that men are prone to give the heel of a shoe a considerable amount of wear suflicient to make the wedge type shoe in many cases impractical. Both the weight of the wearer and the characteristic manner of walking have an influence upon the wear given to the heel of a shoe and particularly the heel of the wedge type shoe.

Among the objects of the invention, therefore, is to provide a new and improved heel lift for wedge type shoes which enables the shoe to enjoy the advantages of a shoe having a heel while at the same time retaining the distinctive appearance of a Wedge type shoe.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heel lift for a wedge type shoe which is adapted to blend into the backing when the weight of a wearer is applied to it.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved heel lift for wedge type shoes which is so shaped and constructed of such material that it is particularly well adapted for use with shoes having either a hard or soft backing at the heel portion.

Also included in the objects is to provide a replaceable heel lift which covers only a relatively small part of the heel portion of the shoe and which is joined to the outsole in such a manner and at a location which makes possible a strong joint substantially unaffected by the flexing normally given a shoe in the course of wear.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a wedge type shoe viewed from the bottom.

Figure 2 is a bottom view of the heel lift applied to the shoe.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, side, elevational view of a portion of the heel of a shoe with the heel lift applied thereto.

In the design and construction of wedge type shoes the features stressed are not only comfort but also a distinctive and informal appearance somewhat different from the appearance of the conventional type shoe. The wedge type shoe, however, has had some defects in that a single outsole thickness has been depended upon to provide the entire wearing surface of the shoe.

Commonly, the heel of a shoe receives considerably more wear than the sole, and to remedy this defect resort has been had in the past to the provision of an extra thickness at the heel. Although this extra thickness has made it possible to wear a pair of shoes for a greater length of time before resoling, the extra thickness, particularly when made of leather, has had a tendency to alter the distinctive appearance so much desired in the wedge type shoe. The addition of the extra thickness at the same time has in no way improved the casual comfort so characteristic of the wedge type shoes. Remedies sought for improving the wearability of the heel have failed. to materially improve the ease of renewing the heel without at the same time making it necessary to renew the entire outsole.

In an embodiment chosen to illustrate the invention there is shown a wedge type shoe comprising an upper l0 having a counter II, a toe l2 and straps l3. To give the shoe its wedgelike appearance there is provided a backing l4, which may be either rigid or soft, having a relatively thin portion I 5 extending over the sole, a relatively thick portion 16 extending over the heel, and a wedge-shaped portion l1 extending over what is normally construed as the shank of the shoe which blends into the sole portion at one end and the heel portion at the other.

Applied to the backing is an outsole 20 having a sole portion 2|, a mid-portion 22 covering what is ordinarily termed the shank of a shoe and a rear portion 23 which covers a part only of the heel of the shoe.

To complete coverage of the heel there is provided a heel lift 25 which is adapted to cover the remaining heel portion of the shoe. The heel lift is of distinct design and essentially homogeneous, normally comprising a resilient material such as rubber.

Among the various parts of the heel lift which give it a character meeting the objects of the invention is the inclusion of a plate portion 26 having an over-all thickness substantially the same as the thickness of the outsole. The plate portion makes a joint with the outsole characterized by the provision of a wedge-like lip 21 of lesser thickness than the thickness of the plate portion and a shoulder 28. The shoulder 28 abuts a complementary shoulder 29 of the outsole and a beveled portion 30 of the outsole accommodates the lip 21.

Extending over a portion only of the heel lift is what has been herein designated as a heel lift 3| having a thickness not greater than and preferably less than the thickness of the plate portion 26. Of further significance is the provision of a gently beveled edge 32 for the heel lift which makes an angle of something less than 30 with respect to the outside surface of the outsole. The heel lift is beveled, also, around the sides 33 and back 34, and the bevel extends along sides 35 of the plate portion as far as the shoulder 28.

By reason of the small size, relatively, of the heel lift and the joint provided for it with the outsole, the heel lift may be readily detached and replaced whenever it becomes worn, the joint of the heel lift with the outsole being located within what is normally conceived of as the heel of the shoe and does not experience the flexing, stretching and cramping which the joint would otherwise experience if located within the shank of the shoe or nearer to the sole.

Of further significance is the pitch of the beveled edge 32. When the weight of the wearer is applied upon the heel, the beveled edge 32 tends to press upwardly and backwardly into the plate portion of the heel lift to such an extent that the beveled edge is actually in contact with the surface upon which the wearer is walking Thus, when the wearers weight is applied to the shoe and particularly the heel of the shoe, the heel lift with the outsole gives the appearance of a continuous line of contact with the surface upon which it rests, thereby preserving to a desirable degree a true wedge-like appearance.

By making the heel lift of resilient material there is permitted a sufficient flow in the heel lift so that when the beveled edge 32 is pressed upwardly and backwardly the beveled back 34 extends rearwardly to a line approaching the vertical edge of the plate portion 26 and the rear of the counter of the shoe, a condition which further enhances the true wedge-like appearance of the shoe while it is being worn.

By making the replaceable heel with a heel lift of no greater thickness than the thickness of the outsole or perhaps of lesser thickness, somewhere in the neighborhood of eight irons, the heel lift is capable of blending into the backing when the full weight of the wearer is applied, and the wearer, although capable of enjoying the benefit of a raised heel when the shoe is worn, is deprived of the feeling of there being any actual elevation of the heel above the level of the outsole and is enabled to experience the casual comfort characteristic of the wedge type shoes.

Although the invention has been herein shown and described in what is conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be accorded the full scope of the claim so as to embrace any and all equivalent structures.

The invention having been herein described, What is claimed and sought to be secured by Letters Patent is:

A platform shoe construction comprising: an upper, a substantially fiat bottomed platform therebeneath, and an outsole-heel combination substantially co-extensive with the bottom of the platform and secured thereto, said outsole-heel combination comprising a relatively hard sole portion of substantially constant thickness terminating at the heel region with a down taper on its upper surface ending with a perpendicular shoulder extending laterally across the shoe, a relatively resilient rubber-like heel member approximately twice the thickness of the sole portion at its greatest depth and terminating forwardly with a shoulder conforming to and abutting against the shoulder on the sole portion and an up taper extending forwardly from the heel shoulder conforming to and abutting against the down taper on the sole portion, the upper surface of the sole portion and heel member positioned directly against the bottom of the platform, the bottom of the heel portion extending rearwardly from the shoulder in approximately the same plane as the bottom of the sole portion and thence tapering downwardly toward the rear, a flat primary ground contact surface extending rearwardly from the lower rear end of the last said taper, the rear edge region of the heel member having a downward inward taper at an angle acute from the horizontal plane of the outsoleheel.

MELVILLEJ KAUFMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,158,053 Hutchison Oct. 26, 1915 2,198,338 Greider Apr. 23, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,454 Great Britain of 1904 23,214 Great Britain of 1902 146,888 Germany Aug. 25, 1936 

